I Think We're Alone Now
by Pashleyy
Summary: When Shizuka gets a job at Kaiba Corp., Jou finds himself in the biggest pickle of his life -- his sister is beginning to fall for the infamous Seto Kaiba! But worse? He might be falling too... Seto/Jou
1. Children Behave

I haven't been in this fandom for a while... so I thought maybe I'd revisit a bit of it! Mainly the niches of this fandom that I haven't gotten to play with. Like Jounouchi and Seto. I haven't gotten to play with them much...

Hmm, yes. Total Yaoi. Oh, poor Shizuka! I feel sorry for the poor girl.

* * *

**I Think We're Alone Now**

Chapter 1_  
Children Behave_

"You told me to get a job, Jou!" Shizuka proclaimed defiantly, a innocent smile becoming her lips. "And that is exactly what I intend to do!"

"I didn't say get a job _here_!" Jounouchi hissed as he darted his eyes about the immaculate waiting room. It was as quiet as death, he realized, with the ever-present trickle of elevator music. A secretary typed effortlessly at the reception desk that hailed a large silver and blue K.C. on its front mahogany as if to spite him. Two other people waited on the opposite side of the room in small plastic chairs. One was a dour-faced man as old as their father, and the other was a young, crisp woman in a tidy black business suit. What on earth made Shizuka think, in her floral skirt and ruffle top, that she could get a receptionist job with these two pricks as candidates?

_None!_ he thought happily, and even managed to tap along to the elevator music in his glee. _Happy Burger's hiring... _he mulled the thought around, picturing his sweet seventeen-year-old sister flipping burgers. His fingers ceased to drum. _Nope. Ain't happening._

The crisp white door that led into Seto Kaiba's office opened, and out stepped Mokuba Kaiba. He ran his eyes across the room, and a spark of surprise lit his face when he noticed Jounouchi and Shizuka waiting. "Jounouchi?" he asked bewildered.

"My sister," was Jou's reply.

"Oh -- Miss Shizuka?"

Shizuka tilted her head up with a smile. "Yes Mokuba?"

"You're next," he looked at his clipboard and wondered how he didn't recognize her name. It should've rang a bell. He wondered if Seto had already noticed the familiar name, or if it had slipped off his radar too.

He had to admit, as Shizuka stood and wandered into the immaculate office of the renown Seto Kaiba, it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless.

"It might be a while," Mokuba told Jounouchi. "There's, you know, a cafeteria on the bottom floor when you're hungry." Then he closed the door, and left the blonde with the old man, and the crisp witchy lady. Both of whom leered at him until he stood, dusted off his ragged jeans, and excused himself from the waiting room.

Whatever possessed his sister to apply for a Kaiba Corporation receptionist job, he hoped she would get over it quickly. _She's not experienced enough,_ was his calming sutra as he wandered down the hallway in search for a soda machine. The cafeteria didn't suit his roiling stomach, and he didn't want to wander too far from his sister -- partly because he didn't trust Seto Kaiba -- but mostly because he still thought of her as a helpless young woman, fingering around the world in the dark.

Which, he had to remind himself, isn't true anymore. _She has better vision than me, damn it_.

He found the soda machines near the hall bathrooms, and searched through the colorful labels of orange sodas and _Coca-Colas_. He fished around for some change in his pocket, and picked the cheapest drink. Working minimum wage at the Auto Supply store made his ego sore, but that's what he got for slacking off in school for all those years, and having a police-accounted track record. _Mostly for fights_, he chided to himself often to make himself feel better. _Mostly for fights I kicked ass in too._

He wished he could've been as successful as Seto Kaiba, assured. _But it didn't hurt that his Pops owned the place first. Then fell out of a window._

When he pressed the button for an orange soda, the machine hummed, and out clunked a neon orange can with a cartoony orange winking at him.

"Excuse me..." came a petite voice from behind.

With a yelp, Jou spun around to the voice. "Holy Jesus," he patted his heart. "You scared the shit outta me!" The young woman gave a bright grin, but it didn't quite reach her beautiful cornflower-blue eyes. "You wouldn't happen to know where Mr. Kaiba's office is, now would you?"

Jou pointed down the hallway behind her. "Straight behind you. Follow the signs. You can't really miss it unless your blind." He popped open his soda, and took a careful swig. When her lips pressed into a tight line and she blinked, he realized she wasn't looking at him at all. Then he noticed her hands grasped around a long metal cane. Shizuka had used one around the months before her surgery too. "Oh, shit! I didn't realize. I'm --"

"The cornflower blue threw you off, right?"

Jou blinked. "Huh?"

"The cornflower blue of my eyes. It threw you off, right?"

"Umm..." He looked into her eyes again, and they were, indeed, quite pretty. And a little creepy. They stared right through him. "Here, I'll... I'll help you there, OK?"

She frowned. "Do I look blonde to you? Just tell me which direction to turn. I got turned around while coming out of the elevator, and the dumbass didn't think to put Braille on his signs." Her voice was curt, but warm. Almost jokingly, as if everything she said was a part of one huge inside joke. When he answered with silence, she smiled again and reached out her hand.

Hesitantly, with his free hand, he reached out too, and was startled when she bypassed his hand and grabbed a hold of his shirt. She patted it down. And didn't miss the contours of his very fine chest.

"OK, so turn around."

He did so. She clamped onto his t-shirt and gave a brisk nod.

"Walk me to the office since you obviously can't give me directions."

Jou considered and finally said, "Sure."

Slowly, Jou led her across the immaculate tile flooring, under fluorescent ceiling lights, and all the while she began to hum, as if she was on a tram patiently waiting for her stop. It was a slow American pop tune that he hardly recognized. Shizuka used to play it endlessly when they were children, but he had long since blocked out painful childhood memories.

_She must be an American,_ he figured after he turned onto the final stretch of hallway. She was pretty, nonetheless. Not exceptionally so, like Anzu. She was a forgetful pretty, with her russet honey hair pulled into a sloppy bun and her face bare with the exception of a fine dash of mascara. Her ears were covered with rings and colorful hoops, and her nose was pierced with a small studded diamond. She wore a white halter top and a long flowy purple and orange sarong. _Yep, definitely American._

The receptionist desk loomed ahead with the gray-haired lady lazily filing her nails in front of the computer screen, the phone to her ear. It was her job that Shizuka was being interviewed for, and it gave him the willies to think that his own sister would be working so close to Seto Kaiba.

It pained him, actually.

_Jesus Christ, she's old enough to take care of herself!_

_But I'm her brother..._

_But she's seventeen. And very beautiful._

_And about to work for a sleezeball._

"Fuck," the girl cursed quietly behind him and tripped. She clamped onto his back and steadied herself, feeling for her loose flipflop on the ground. He scooted it towards her, and she snagged her toes into the band again. "Thanks," she said.

"Sure," he replied distractedly and led her to the receptionist's desk.

The old lady squeaked in her chair and looked up. Surprise flittered across her face. "Oh! Miss Miyazaki!"

Jou felt the young woman let go of his shirt, and stand on her own. "Hello, Mrs. Hiro. How's the family?"

"Oh, the little brats are driving me up the wall! I envy you, Miss Miyazaki."

"Oh?"

"Because God has a permanent condom on you! No little mistakes, if you know what I mean..."

"Are you referring to my infertility, or the fact that I'm blind?"

"Both! You don't have to worry about repopulating the earth."

"And thank God for that!" And they both laughed, as if sex was the topic of their everyday conversation. In Jou's world, it definitely wasn't, and he felt himself getting hot under the collar at the thought of Shizuka ever engaging in that type of conversation. Especially here.

_With Kaiba._

"Err, when will my sister be out?"

"When Mr. Kaiba's done with her, of course."

_Oh shit. _Jou winced at the mental image too explicit for even R-rated movies. _Oh holy fuck!_

"You're sister is interviewing for Mrs. Hiro's position?" the blind girl asked politely.

Timidly, Jou nodded, then realized she couldn't see it and muttered, "Guess so." She smiled. "How awesome! How old is she?"

"Seventeen," was Jou's quiet reply.

"Ooh, and Seto likes them young!"

His face grew as red as a tomato at the unholy thought. _Likes them young my fucking ass!_

Jou quickly spun towards Seto Kaiba's office, a stone look on his face, and marched towards the door. Like hell was his sister going to work here with --

As soon as he reached the door, it flew open. Mokuba Kaiba stood in the doorway, Shizuka a few paces behind him. For a moment, Jou studied his sister. Her hair seemed to be in place, and her clothes weren't skewed, and she didn't looked to have been tossed up against Seto's desk and raped, but just to be sure he asked, "...Did everything go... OK?"

Shizuka beamed a smile at him. "I won't know for a few days," she replied.

_You never have to know if you take the Day-After pill! _was his mind's quick-witted reply.

"Uh -- ah..." Jou stuttered. His sister came up and took him by the arm, and blush crossing her delicate face. She stared into his chocolate eyes and said with a smile, "I think I'd like it here."

_Chains. Hand cuffs. Whips. _Jou winced. _Fuck. _

She nodded to the receptionist and said politely, "It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Hiro. I hope your daughter's wedding goes as planned."

_Shotgun wedding. _Jou wanted to bang his head against the wall.

Mrs. Hiro laughed. "Oh, it will! I'll make sure of it!" And they all laughed. All except Jou, who's mind was in the nearest church as his Mom held a gun to Shizuka and forced her to marry the moneybags named Seto Kaiba. Jou went rigid. He hated his wild imagination.

The blind girl patted herself over to Mokuba, and felt his hair. "Ah, Mokie. You left something at the park yesterday." And from her patched purse she fished out a handheld gaming system, and presented it to him. "I thought you might need it soon."

Mokuba beamed. "Thanks Dorie!"

"No problem, kiddo. Does your bro need me anymore this week?"

The young boy cocked his head thoughtfully. "Probably on Thursday. He's got a meeting."

A smile enraptured her lips again. "Then we should totally break out the Super Smash Brothers. Whaddya say?"

"Yes!" Mokuba cheered.

"Sounds like a date, then." She patted his hair lovingly, then turned to bow to Jou and his sister. "And it was nice meeting you two."

For a moment, his chocolate eyes connected with hers. For a second, she smiled as if she could actually see him. But then her eyes wandered, like all blind eyes do, and looked so lost in a world that was staring her in the face.

Her eyes sent shivers down his spine. He knew those eyes.

Icy blue. _Oh fucking A._

"You too," came Shizuka's cheerful reply.

With her cane in hand, the blind woman named Dorie tapped and felt her way down the hallway, and around the bend from wince she came.

Mrs. Hiro gave a motherly sigh, and shook her head. "Such a sweet girl, don't you think?"

"Very," Shizuka commented. Mokuba agreed.

Distantly, Jou inclined his head, a small rush of curiosity weaving through his bones. For a moment, he stared down the empty hallway, considering, and then said, "She has pretty eyes," and downed the rest of his orange soda.

* * *

_Continue or No?_

* * *


	2. That's What They Say When We're Together

Well, here is Chapter Two! Oh, and for the reviewer who cautiously reminded me that unknown Kaiba sisters were a big no-no, you are absolutely right. I'm not that brainless! Besides, Dorie deserves a better subplot than that...

...and now that I have THAT out of my system, on with the show!

Should I change this to **M**? Vote Vote!

And review, I beg of thee! Did I get them on-character almost? Close to? Not close enough? Just quit while you're ahead...?

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Two  
_That's What They Say When We're Together_

Jou was more tired than normal when he woke up the next weekend, feeling like a dump trunk had rolled over him, reversed, and smashed him again. He hadn't taken a shower in three days, and he smelled like feet. The bad sort of feet too. "Like Honda's feet," he realized monotonously while in bed that next Saturday, one leg hanging off the end of his cot. "Shit, I need a shower."

He rubbed his eyes and sat up, beer cans clattering around his bed. _I didn't have that many…_ he mused to himself. _Must've been after that shot of vodka._

You see, Jou had gotten the horrible news of his sister's hirement that Wednesday, and proceeded to drown himself in Natural Light (the cheapest American beer -- his Pops kept a good stock of it in the fridge), vodka, and _Didn't I have sake too? With that cute black-headed girl?_

The memory bubbled up of that said black-headed girl, her head on his shoulder, her face the smell of bubblegum and her skin the taste of the cheapest sake man could hold. He didn't remember much about her, only the color of her lacy pink underwear and the husk that was her voice.

"Lower?" she had purred, her fingers had traced the contours of his chest, and began to inch towards his jeans. "A little lower?"

It was when she tongued his ear that he gave up the ghost.

"Shit," Jou groaned and face-palmed his forehead. "I didn't even know her name."

But then again, drunken sex didn't warrant names, and he wouldn't have cared for her number anyway. _I'm definitely keeping that night to myself…especially from Honda. And Anzu_.

He gasped. "Ah shit! Anzu!"

He was supposed to have picked her up from her burger job thirty minutes ago, and at the very thought of Nasty Burger, his stomach roiled. And heaved up everything that he had eaten in the past ten hours. His throat burned, and his mouth tasted like moldy bubblegum.

"Didn't remember eating that," he muttered over the side of the bed, facedown into the trashcan. He swiped his mouth clean with the end of his long-sleeved shirt, and curled up into the fetal position on his cot. He pressed his face into the pillow, and remembered that sake gave you one killer hangover.

The phone rang.

He crawled away from his bed and answered. "Katsuya residence. Jounouchi speaking."

"Onii-san?"

"Shizuka?" he replied, surprised. "Is something wrong? Did Kaiba--"

"Nothing's wrong!" she laughed, bright and carefree. Jou's gut twisted at the sheer thought of Kaiba hearing her laugh. _The bastard wouldn't appreciate it anyway._ "I have a favor, actually, Jou… I know it's a bit strange but would you help?"

"Anything for my sister!"

And that's how he got roped into escorting Shizuka to the Kaiba Mansion. And Anzu still hadn't been picked up. (Later Honda got her, but she didn't forgive Jou until he got on his knees and groveled at her feet).

"Jou?" his sister asked after she had popped the question. It felt like a thousand punches had been thrown at Jou's gut, and landed straight in his groin instead.

"Yeah?" he managed.

"Do you have a hangover?"

"Yeah."

"I'll bring some medicine over."

"Yeah." _And some more vodka while you're at it._

Jou thought the worst day in his life was the day Seto Kaiba hired his younger sister.

He was sorely mistaken.

* * *

The small, beat-up T-bird rolled into the driveway behind a brilliant silver Volvo. It hiccupped to a stop, and a puff of smoke belched from the tailpipe. It was an old hand-me-down greaser that Honda had found a few months back at a third-rate dealership. It was cheap, but it also looked cheap, and Jou wouldn't have had any other car even if he could afford one.

Jounouchi wrenched the parking break up with restrained anger and threw off his seatbelt. Just the sight of the towering three-story mansion got on her nerve.

_What level of hell do rich people go to?_

Shizuka patted her brother on the shoulder with an innocent grin, three vanilla folders clasped tightly to her pink-bloused chest.

_How about murderers?_

He eyed his sister wearily. "Just wonderin'…why do you need to dress up to deliver three folders? And why couldn't you just've mailed them?"  
She sighed. "Onii-san, you've asked me that already! Because he needs these, like, now. And I don't trust perverted mailmen in short blue shorts! I'll just be a minute, OK?"

Jou grumbled.

She touched his forearm and made him look her in the eyes. He couldn't help but to see his mother in those deep brown eyes, and so he felt compelled to cooperate. She took a deep breath, "Jou, I know that you don't like Kaiba-san--"

"--Kaiba-_san_?" When she glared, he shut up.

"But please bear with me? It's only for a few minutes, and you can wait in the car." She patted his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't do anything stupid, OK?"

"Does that mean I can't ram into the back of that car?"

She laughed. "Exactly."

Then she shoved open the rusted door, got out, and straightened her pencil skirt with renewed vigor. Like a young, innocent mini-Mai, Jou realized as he watched like a hawk as she followed the driveway up to the pathway to the front door, and casually knocked. She looked so comfortable standing in the doorway, a candied smile playing across her glossy lips. He tightened his hands on the steering wheel and felt the leather cover groan under his fingers. It was a wonder Shizuka was still single. He had heard of a few boys here and there from his mother, but he was determined that his sister was too wild and carefree for any man to tame her. Honda and Ryuuji couldn't even do it.

_I just hope Kaiba doesn't have a whip._

He winced at the mental image.

_Or a cage--shit!_

He sat straighter in his seat as the front door opened to Mokuba. The little kid jumped at Shizuka and gave her a tight hug. She returned it with a ravishing smile.

_Don't go inside…don't go inside…_

Words were exchanged. Shizuka gave a laugh. Mokuba beamed with pride.

_The little shit is playing her! I knew it. I KNEW IT!_

"C'mon, Shiz, just hand him the damn folders and get back here," he muttered, his hands inching towards the parking break. The motor was a quiet purr, and his foot tapped the gas pedal impatiently. "C'mon…C'mon…"

Then, all of a sudden, Shizuka's face fell. Mokuba pointed in Jou's direction. It felt like Hell happened upon Jou all at once.

There was the squeal of tires. The slam of a door.

Then piercing blue eyes lowered to Jou's level outside the driver's seat door, his lips set into a thin line, his hair brushed to the side in windy chaos. Jou was too stunned to think. It happened so quickly. And then he found himself staring into a chasm of icy blue eyes, and sat there, mouth agape.

"Get the fuck out of my driveway, Katsuya."

It felt like Jou was staring at a freshly-thawed abominable snowman. An angry one, at that. "K-Kaiba?"

The tall brunette rolled his eyes. "Don't play dumb with me. Out of my driveway or--"

Jou finally found his tongue. "Or what, Kaiba? I can be wherever the hell I wanna!"

"Not in my driveway."

"Wherever!"

Kaiba wrenched the door open and came within inches of Jou's face. "I will call security. I will have you arrested. And I will _not_ be lenient."

"Go on, you bastard. I can take you!" Jou forced the engine off and pushed his way out of the car. Kaiba stumbled back, and all of a sudden they were neck-to-neck like two ferocious dogs, their teeth bared in testosterone determination.

Kaiba was the cool, simmering one. "I'm not referring to you, Katsuya," he replied in a calm tone.

The blonde's eyes widened. He fisted his hand. "You--!!"

"Kaiba-san!" Shizuka thwarted World War III with honey-covered annoyance. Both grown men came to themselves almost instantaneously. She intercepted their gaze and stood between them, a hand outstretched onto both of their chests to keep them away from each other. "I brought you these, sir." The vanilla folders were pressed roughly into Kaiba's chest. "You left them on you desk. I thought you might need the Malsworth files for your business meeting tomorrow."  
There was a moment. Fire almost danced in the hot air around them, static and ferocious and unmoving. And then Jou relaxed his shoulders, and Kaiba followed suit.

Kaiba took the folders and shoved them under one arm. "Thank you."

"You are quite welcome!" the small young woman chirped without a malignant bone in her body. "I'm sorry if we've caused you any problems…"

Jou could see the retrain on his rival's face as he answered, "No problem at all, Miss Shizuka."

"Well, that's perfect then!" She then turned to her brother and tugged at his wrist. "We better get going soon, I promised you dinner for this. Hamburgers, right?"

Jou was about to agree when Mokuba hopped in between them. "Hey--hey, hamburgers? We're having that too!" The kid turned to his brother with a deviously innocent smile and asked, "Can we invite them, huh?"

"No," came Kaiba and Jour's reply simultaneously. Shizuka blinked, startled.

The kid glanced between the two men before prattling on. "Oh c'mon Seto!" the raven-haired youth pleaded and took Shizuka's other hand. "She came all this way! We gotta do something for her!"

The truth of the matter was, Mokuba had a childhood crush on Shizuka. No one would find that out until he proposed to her five years later, after he had started his own company specializing in theme park attractions, and under the table he would paten The Pleasure Button -- a unique adult-themed toy for both genders that sold throughout the world in mass-market stores.

But at the moment, he was just a boy who had unceremoniously invited his brother's assistant, and her brother, to the start of the end of both families' lives.  
Kaiba gave his brother a hard glare, and couldn't help but to cave. After all, Mokuba had their mother's eyes, and he could never say no to them. "Whatever. Just remember to keep the dog on a leash."

"Excuse me?" the blonde rumbled under his breath.

Seto Kaiba looked his rival blonde up and down, before replying in such a cool and placid tone, it raised the hair on Jou's arms. And it struck something funny in his gut, and made him shiver. "You heard me."

As the multi-billionaire stalked away, Jou looked after him. "Stupid shiny Volvo owner," he grumbled, shoved his hands into his pockets, and followed Mokuba and Shizuka--hand in hand--into the mansion of Seto Kaiba.

* * *

_Continue or No?  
_

* * *


	3. And Watch How You Play

Woooow! It's been too long since I've updated this story! Sorry guise, excuses are fail, I realize. But I really do like this chapter. And, again, lemme stress that Dorie is in no way blood-related to the Kaibas, nor will she ever be. She's no long-lost sister. Although, if she was it wouldn't be too big of a stretch. I mean, everyone in the YGO universe is somehow connected, right? So if I ever did decide to, say, make Amelia Seto's long lost sister, I could do it. Probably.

But that would just be cracktastic. And, however much I love cracktastic things, I'd rather somehow have Judai be Yuugi's third cousin than Amelia be Seto's sister. Because he's really a boy. And that'd just be awkward. Like Sonny and Cher's daughter--I mean son. Erm, yeah.

So here's a question: If any YGO character could opt for a sex change, which would it be, you think?

And while you ponder, I shall enjoy my boy/boy love.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Three  
**_And Watch How You Play _

The mansion, for what it was worth, was as big as Domino High and the local mall combined. Jou had never seen anything more obtusely expensive in all his life his life. He didn't understand it—at all. The foyer itself was padded with lush beige carpet, golden-chromed wallpaper, and an antique mahogany end-table with a precious Persian-printed lamp and a crystalline vase with fresh daisies in it. There were knickknacks in the house just to be knickknacks—they didn't hold a purpose, or a special meaning. They were just there to take up space, and be admired—from the white-tiger rug in the living room to the antique clock in the hallway, to the diamond chandelier above the cherry-wood dining table, to the pristine kitchen with too much food stocked in the pantry.

"Holy shit," Jou gasped when he found the motherlode of food in the Kaibas' pantry. "You got enough to feed an army!"

"Unless you're in the army, Jou," Shizuka teased, slinging her arms around her brother's neck and looking at the ten-foot-high pantry, and the seven shelves it encompassed.

Jou picked out a can of pinto beans and made a face. "I definitely wouldn't eat that."

"That aside," she snatched it out of his hand and replaced it back into the pantry, "you'd eat the Kaibas' out of house and home! C'mon, it's rude to drool before dinner's even started." And she took his hand and dragged him out of the kitchen.

Mokuba gave them the grand tour. Jou counted the bedrooms (14), the portraits (127), the studies (3 – not including Seto's secret basement one), the bathrooms (17), and the closets (39 ½). He even began counting the number of maids who scuttled through the halls at any given moment, but he soon lost count, and lost interest. Instead, he began to count the number of times Seto excused himself to go take care of some other business.

On the third excuse, Mokuba whined, "Can't business wait a little bit?"

"Not today," was his brother's stark reply before disappearing around a tight corridor. Jou craned his head to follow, but lost him as quickly as he had left. He frowned and scratched his head.

There must have been secret doors. He was sure of it.

Mokuba gave a disheartened sigh and showed them the third and last floor. "No one comes up here," he told them sullenly. "No one but the maids, anyway."

"Why?" Shizuka asked, thinking what a shame it was to leave a perfectly beautiful floor untouched or unadventured.

"'Cause Seto and me used to live on the third floor of the orphanage. We don't like third floors anymore."

"That'd explain why the finances are on the third floor of Kaiba Corp.," she muttered, and tapped the tip of her fingernail on her lip. "So… you two have this big old mansion all to yourselves?"

Mokuba nodded. "It's fun to play hide and seek in."

That caught Jou's ADD attention span might quickly. It also helped that his mind was already halfway into the gutter from the portrait of a nude Victorian model he had been admiring seconds before, and twitched his eyebrow. _Fun…to play hide and seek in?_

"There's lots of rooms," Mokuba went on, oblivious to the blonde's sudden gutterball mind and agitated eyebrow, "so it's easy to stay in one for hours without being found out."

_ Without being found out…  
_

"Gosh, I haven't played it in a long time though," the boy lamented tragically, putting his hands behind his head, and Jou watched as compassion filled his sister's eyes like fresh honey.

_ Oh hell no,_ he ground his teeth. _Don't you dare._

Mokuba topped his dramatic lament with a home run. "Becaue Seto works so much, I don't really have much time to play with him. Unless it's Dorie…but she's different. She tries to fill his shoes, but it's not really the same."

Jou saw it coming. Oh, did he see it coming! He saw the words out of Shizuka's mouth before she even opened those pretty little pink lips. The worst part was that he couldn't stop her in time. In fact, he tried—he even made a little lurch as if to pounce Mokuba for even playing that card on his poor innocent sister—but he stopped himself at last minute. He pulled his own reigns and bit his tongue.

At the time, he wasn't quite sure why.

"Then we'll make him play with you!" proclaimed the honey-haired Shizuka, thrusting her fist into the air. "I won't stand for this listless brotherly love! Kaiba-san has time now, doesn't he?"

Mokuba tried to interject, "But—"

She, however, wouldn't have any of it.

_That's my sister,_ Jou thought tragically.

"He has lots of time right now! Let's go find him and re-spark this brotherly love!" With a sheer steel determination, she spun right around and backtracked herself down the hallway. Her destination: Seto Kaiba's home office.

"But Shizuka-kun!" the boy fumbled, failing after her. "He'll kill me!"

Not if I kill you first. Jou rolled up the sleeves on his red turtleneck above the elbow, and followed the younger Kaiba and his sister down three flights of stairs, through twisting, stark hallways, and to a large brass-knockered door that seethed 'KEEP OUT'. _Oh, I will kill you so hard, Mokuba Kaiba._

* * *

Jou never got the chance to kill Mokuba Kaiba. For, the moment he entered Seto Kaiba's private study, Seto was out for Mokuba Kaiba's blood instead.

"What are they doing in here?" the cold brunette asked, obviously not wanting guests. The light from his LCD 32" computer screen reflected light on the right side of his face, casting shadows across the other. His hands still rested on the keyboards—he had been in mid-work.

And no one interrupts Seto Kaiba.

Mokuba gulped. "You see…" he wavered. "Shizuka-kun…"

"We're here to have fun!" the honey-haired young woman proclaimed, shoving in front of Mokuba with a fist raised in triumph. She had a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she addressed her boss very unprofessionally.

Obviously, Shizuka knew nothing of keeping her job. Either that, or she didn't quite care. Or maybe she had weighed her options, and she knew exactly how far she could press her luck against the infamous teenaged CEO.

"Fun?" Seto deadpanned.

"Yes! We're going to play hide and seek!"

His eyebrow twitched.

On the computer screen, the program started to tweak in motion. Jou, who had calmly and quietly snuck into the study after his younger accomplices, trained his eyes on the computer screen. He blinked in surprise.

_ What the…_

It was some sort of system vitality of a humanoid thing. A hologram, maybe? A new project? Robot? _Gundam?_

He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Katsuya," Seto snapped, using his quick reflexes to turn off the computer monitor and stand at the same time, "control your sister."

_Oh,_ Jou blinked, surprised, at his rival. He suddenly understood a bit more than he needed to. Or wanted to. Most every notion of a cold-hearted Seto Kaiba dulled, but then again another notion took its place. _Fucking work-a-holic. Hell if I'll help him._

"Eh?" Jou poked his pinky in his ear and rubbed it. "I can't hear you."

"Control you sister, mutt."

"Ah, see, there might be a slight problem there, Kaiba-boy," he mocked. "I ain't going to control no one. Nope. She's your guest."

Seto gave him an eat-shit look.

In return, Jou shrugged it off airily.

"Pleeeeaaaasssee?" Mokuba whined. "Pleeaaase Seto?!"

There was no way in hell Seto would demote himself to playing hide and seek—there was no reason to. He hadn't played the game since the orphanage, and to think that he'd play it again was a naïve misconception. He had work to do, and people to boss, and employees to pay. He didn't have time to run around like a chicken with his head cut off for the sake of some childish game. So, he reached for the phone sitting in the corner of his desk, and pressed one.

He put the receiver to his ear. "I'll call Dorie up here to play with y—"

To his surprise, the blonde-headed idiot pressed endcall button, and kept his fingers on the TouchTone buttons. Ice blue eyes hit hard against hard brown, and neither of them budged.

"Katsuya," Seto said through grit teeth, trying to be patient.

"Do it yourself for once, Kaiba," Jou replied. "You're not one for half-assing a job, right? Why's this any different?"

Mokuba rushed around the desk, fell to his knees with his hands clasped together in begging, and begged, "Plllleeeaaaaassse Seto?!"

"Then you can get back to work!" Shizuka chirped happily. "I have the files and everything!"

A stalemate, Seto realized as he shifted his eyes through all the guests. Was this his punishment for skimping on the Christmas bonus this year? Funds had been tight—he had a bonified explanation for the 25% Off Turkey coupon he mailed out instead. It must have been karma—it had to have been.

Then again, he didn't believe in karma.

He also didn't believe in kismet.

And maybe, if he had, he would have seen further events coming at him like a freight train as he shouldered past Jounouchi to shrug off his business coat. He would have seen the brick wall flying in his direction if he had just looked, but he was too busy leering at the blonde mutt to notice it in his peripheral. If he had, he might have played a bit nicer.

As it stood, however, Seto Kaiba didn't believe in karma, kismet, or stupid people.

All three of which were about to give him a rude awakening.

"Fine," Seto snapped to his brother, "but for an hour only. I'm counting. Now go hide."

Too shocked to move, all Mokuba could accomplish was a gaping stare.

"Well?" his brother rumbled.

Then a smile blossomed upon the young boy's lips. He stood with lightning speed, and darted out the door. "No one follow me! Seto, you'll never find me!" his voice echoed as he flashed down the hallway.

It only took half an icy glare to get Shizuka and Jou out of his study, running for a hiding spot. Only then did he turn his back to the door, lean against the burgundy wall with his head leaned up against his arm, and began counting.

* * *

_  
Continue or No?_


End file.
